Lucky escape for teen caught in rip at Avoca Beach

- Dec 09, 2015

A swimmer had a lucky escape last night after being pulled from the water at Avoca Beach

At approximately 8pm last night, a 19 year old man was swimming after sunset when he was caught in a rip. Fortunately, the directors of the Surf Life Saving Club - Central Coast were having a meeting at the nearby clubhouse. As they were leaving the meeting, ex ironman and branch CEO Chris Parker, Director of Member Services Aaron Camp and Education Director Jane Davis spotted the teen.

Chris, still dressed in his work clothes, raced back into the club to get a rescue board while Aaron picked up a child’s foam bodyboard that had been left on the sand.

While the two men struggled to get out to the man in the dark, messy conditions, Jane coordinated communications.

Once they reached the young man, the duo were able to get him onto the rescue board and back to shore where they carried him up to the club and administered oxygen.

He had swallowed a lot of water but responded well to the resuscitation attempts by the off-duty lifesavers and was then transferred to hospital for treatment by paramedics.

Witnessing the rescue effort, Jane Davis said she was very proud of her fellow lifesavers. “It was just awesome to see Chris catch a massive wave with the patient to bring him back into shore,” she said.

State Duty Officer Brett Beswick said the incident was a timely reminder to all about the dangers of swimming at night.

“The man was extremely fortunate that all the circumstances were right for his rescue. He was very lucky that there were trained lifesavers on hand and that they were able to reach him right away otherwise this situation could have ended very differently,” Mr Beswick said.

“We are obviously delighted at this successful rescue effort, but it is so important that people are aware of the best ways to keep themselves safe at the beach especially as we head into the busy summer holiday season.”